#Fraud Detection Systems

[lesliedodge5]

Doriel Abrahams, Principal Technologist at Forter, on AI, Fraud Prevention, & Digital Trust Future

In this episode of Discover Dialogues, we’re joined by Doriel Abrahams, Principal Technologist at Forter, who shares his expert insights on how AI is reshaping the landscape of fraud detection and how businesses can leverage this technology to protect their customers and build digital trust. Doriel has been leading AI-driven fraud prevention at Forter for over a decade, helping businesses tackle one of the most pressing challenges in digital commerce. He discusses how real-time fraud detection and AI models are revolutionizing how businesses handle fraud prevention, allowing them to identify fraudulent activities before they cause harm. With the rise of digital transactions, AI-powered systems are becoming an indispensable tool for businesses to automate fraud detection and reduce the burden of manual oversight.

[wildfey]

I know I've been Dick (Gumshoe) posting a lot recently and it's not particularly intentional but I have also been rotating him in my mind.

Most loyal man in the world enters an institution that seems to corrupt the morals of everyone who comes into contact with it. Is incredibly shit at his job. Swears he's a good detective despite repeatedly almost being fired. Comes back every time and gets mad because everyone he cares about keeps getting arrested. Does not connect this to the fact that he arrests the wrong people constantly and the only reason he gets in trouble for it is because unlike everyone else he works with, he isn't fiddling with the evidence to justify it.

His best friend is his boss who also keeps cutting his pay because as mentioned previously, he is shit at his job. He outlasts pretty much everyone else in AA because he is the only person not constantly getting caught up in convoluted murder schemes. Presumably this is because he's too busy painting animatronics to actually notice what is happening around him.

[asuryachoudharyblr]

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[prestigebfs]

🛡️ Cybersecurity and Fraud Prevention in Finance: How to Protect Your Financial Systems in 2025

 In today’s digital-first financial world, cybersecurity and fraud prevention in finance are more critical than ever. With the rise of online banking, mobile payments, and digital assets, financial institutions face increasingly sophisticated cyber threats and fraud tactics.

🔍 Why Cybersecurity Is Crucial in the Finance Industry

The financial sector is one of the most targeted industries by cybercriminals due to its vast access to sensitive personal data and high-value transactions. From phishing and ransomware to account takeover and insider threats, the risk landscape continues to evolve.

Google Keyword: financial cyber threats

💣 The Cost of Poor Financial Cybersecurity

Average cost of a financial data breach: $5.9 million

70% of consumers will switch banks or services after a breach

Identity theft and digital fraud rates are up 34% YoY

Trending Search Term: banking data breaches 2025

✅ Top Strategies for Cybersecurity and Fraud Prevention in Finance

1. Adopt Multi-Layered Security Protocols

Layered security (also called “defense in depth”) uses a combination of firewalls, encryption, anti-virus software, and secure authentication to prevent unauthorized access.

Related Term: secure financial transactions

2. Leverage AI and Machine Learning for Fraud Detection

Artificial intelligence plays a key role in identifying unusual patterns and suspicious behavior in real-time. AI-powered fraud detection systems can:

Flag fraudulent transactions instantly

Analyze thousands of data points in seconds

Continuously learn and adapt to new fraud tactics

Keyword: AI in cybersecurity

3. Implement Real-Time Transaction Monitoring

Real-time monitoring tools allow institutions to track and respond to threats instantly, reducing loss and minimizing damage.

Search Intent: fraud detection systems for financial services

4. Enhance Customer Authentication Protocols

Using multi-factor authentication (MFA), biometric verification, and one-time passwords (OTPs) helps protect accounts from unauthorized access.

Search Trigger: how to protect financial data from hackers

5. Train Employees and Clients on Cyber Hygiene

Human error remains one of the top causes of breaches. Train staff and customers on:

Recognizing phishing scams

Using secure passwords

Avoiding suspicious links and public Wi-Fi

Keyword Phrase: digital financial fraud prevention tips

🔐 Top Tools and Technologies for Financial Cybersecurity in 2025

Darktrace & Vectra AI: Behavioral threat detection

Splunk & IBM QRadar: Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

Okta & Duo: Identity and access management

ThreatMetrix: Real-time fraud analytics

📉 Common Types of Financial Cyber Threats

Phishing Attacks

Credential Stuffing

Account Takeovers

Ransomware Attacks

Insider Threats

Synthetic Identity Fraud

Search Phrase: types of financial cyber fraud

🧠 Real-World Example

In 2024, a regional credit union prevented over $2 million in fraud losses using AI-based transaction monitoring and customer biometrics. This proactive cybersecurity investment boosted customer confidence and reduced fraud-related downtime by 75%.

🚀 The Future of Cybersecurity in Finance

In 2025 and beyond, expect to see:

Widespread use of zero-trust security models

Enhanced biometric authentication

Increased use of blockchain for transaction verification

AI-powered fraud prevention as the industry standard

Keyword Used: future of cybersecurity in banking

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📌 Final Takeaway

As digital transactions continue to grow, so does the threat landscape. Prioritizing cybersecurity and fraud prevention in finance is no longer optional—it’s essential.

Businesses and institutions that invest in AI-driven security tools, real-time monitoring, and fraud prevention protocols will not only protect their assets but also build long-term customer trust and compliance.

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[trueshield-ai]

Our team embarked on a mission to revolutionise how companies approach fraud detection and prevention.

[alwajeeztech]

ZATCA VAT & Tax Return System in ALZERP Cloud ERP Software

The ALZERP Cloud ERP Software offers a comprehensive tax return system designed to facilitate the calculation, moderation, and finalization of VAT and tax returns. This system ensures businesses comply with the Saudi Arabian tax regulations set by the Zakat, Tax, and Customs Authority (ZATCA). By automating and streamlining the tax return process, ALZERP helps businesses achieve accuracy and…

[rachvictor05]

Understanding Healthcare Fraud Detection Software Solutions

Healthcare fraud detection software solutions are specialized tools designed to identify and prevent fraudulent activities within the healthcare system. These solutions use advanced algorithms and data analytics to detect anomalies, patterns, and behaviors indicative of fraud. By analyzing vast amounts of data from insurance claims, patient records, and billing processes, the software can flag suspicious activities that may indicate fraudulent behavior.

Key features of these solutions often include real-time monitoring, automated alerts, and sophisticated pattern recognition. They help healthcare providers, insurers, and regulatory bodies to detect fraudulent claims, billing irregularities, and other deceptive practices efficiently. By integrating with existing healthcare IT systems, these tools offer a comprehensive approach to managing and mitigating fraud risks.

The implementation of fraud detection solutions enhances the integrity of healthcare services, ensuring that resources are allocated appropriately and reducing financial losses. Additionally, it supports compliance with regulatory standards and protects patient data from misuse. Overall, these solutions are crucial in maintaining trust and accountability within the healthcare industry, ultimately leading to more efficient and transparent operations.

[airwavesdotblog]

Navigating Turbulent Waters: What to Expect During a Global Economic Collapse.

April 28, 2024 Based on a recent article titled “Realistic Things to Expect During a Global Economic Collapse” from MSN. Here’s a concise summary and analysis: Stock Market Volatility: During an economic collapse, stock markets can experience extreme fluctuations. Investors may witness rapid declines in stock prices, leading to panic and uncertainty. Currency Devaluation: The value of national…

[vindaloo-softtech]

How AI Helps in VoIP Fraud Detection and Prevention

Do you think businesses now rely on traditional telephone networks? No!

Communication has evolved a lot in the last decade and that has increased the importance and usage of Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP, a groundbreaking technology, has redefined the landscape of communication for both individuals and businesses. It changes how we talk by using the internet instead of old-fashioned phone lines.

Understanding VoIP Fraud:

Voice-over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) tools provide versatility and mobility, but they bring along significant risks capable of harming a company’s reputation and operations. Cybercriminals exploit susceptibilities to eavesdrop on calls, steal confidential information, and demand ransom in exchange for data protection. It is important to understand that no technology these days comes without any risk and thus, if you want to enjoy its benefits, you have to be ready with proactive measures to stay protected from its threats.

Challenges in VoIP Fraud Detection:

When VoIP also faces threats from cybercriminals, a major challenge companies face is detecting these frauds. Firstly, fraud schemes keep changing, making it hard to catch them all. Malevolent actors capitalize on vulnerabilities to intercept calls, pilfer sensitive data, and extort ransom for safeguarding information. A hacker can infiltrate a VoIP server and exploit the configured gateway to make unauthorized calls worldwide, leading to substantial financial losses for any organization.

Another challenge is the need for quick analysis of lots of data, which can be tricky. Also, finding the right balance between spotting real fraud and avoiding false alarms is a puzzle that needs solving. Overcoming these barriers is crucial for enhancing VoIP fraud detection and upholding secure communication.

The Role of AI in VoIP Fraud Detection and Management

The real challenge begins not with managing the threats but with identifying and preventing them. And AI plays a pivotal role in the whole process. 

Anomaly detection – AI analyzes usage patterns to flag irregular activity that deviates from normal baselines, which could indicate malicious access or attacks.

Pattern recognition – Machine learning (ML) algorithms can identify common patterns in data that are associated with different threat types, such as denial of service attacks, brute force hacking, fraud, etc.

Network traffic analysis – AI can rapidly analyze massive volumes of network traffic data and metadata to detect irregularities and potential threats. 

Log correlation – AI can quickly match and correlate anomalies detected across different system logs and uncover linked threats.

Predictive analysis – Based on an analysis of historical threats, AI can build models and predict emerging or likely threats.

Behavior profiling – AI can build profiles of normal user behavior and then flag activity that deviates from the norm. This could identify hacked or hijacked accounts.

Prioritizing alerts – AI can find large feeds of security alerts and automatically prioritize the most critical ones that require immediate investigation.

The rapid acceleration of technological advancements has reached unprecedented heights, and at the forefront of this transformation is the dynamic fusion of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) with Artificial Intelligence (AI). This amalgamation is reshaping the communication landscape across diverse sectors, making machine learning and AI integral components of the VoIP experience.

Check out how, with the help of AI, organizations can treat VoIP fraud.

Dynamic Threat Response: AI initiates rapid response protocols to contain and neutralize identified VoIP threats.

Adaptive Threat Prevention: AI continually refines prevention strategies based on evolving cyber threat landscapes.

Enhanced User Authentication: Strengthened authentication processes ensure only authorized access to VoIP systems.

Automated Responses: AI automates incident responses, minimizing downtime and mitigating security incidents.

Tailored Security Measures: AI adapts security frameworks based on specific VoIP vulnerabilities and threats.

Proactive Vulnerability Patching: Automated patching reports vulnerabilities before exploitation, ensuring timely updates.

Human-AI Collaboration: AI collaborates with human expertise, providing insights for informed decision-making.

Impact of AI on VoIP

In conclusion, there is no denying AI’s revolutionary effect on VoIP. Its integration ushers in a new era in communication technology, strengthening security and improving user experiences alike. The speed and adaptability of AI systems make them well-suited for addressing the growing problem of VoIP fraud. Integrating AI into telecom security systems can make them faster, smarter, and more effective at stopping threats and protecting networks.

As more people and organizations embrace this synergy, VoIP promises never-before-seen efficiency and innovation. We can’t deny the fact that it is the right time to invest in a reputed VoIP solution provider to leverage this technology the most.

[whos-the-seme]

Shen Qingqiu was doomed.

He stood still, fluttering his fan nervously and trying to avoid catching his counterpart's, the real Shen Qingqiu, glaring eyes from across the room. Instead, he idly observed the other Cang Qiong Mountain Peak Lords, trying to spot the differences between the ones he knew and their alternates.

Liu Qingge had brought back a strange artifact from one of his hunts to the monthly Peak Lord meeting. It was a mirror, rimmed an ugly tarnished gold, topped with a decoration that was shaped into an unidentifiable creature with ruby red eyes.

[Important Artifact Detected: Red-Eyed Sphinx's Mirror! Quest starting...]

Shen Qingqiu had been trying to remember where it might have appeared in PIDW when the surface of the mirror suddenly began to glow a dull yellow. It quickly brightened until it obscured everyone's vision.

And then, there stood another set of peak lords across the room, facing them down.

System, what on earth is going on???

[Quest started: Lost Long Spirit in My Reflection! Other characters have been transported to this universe. Host must find a way to send them back without revealing his identity as a transmigrator.]

WTF? I didn't agree to this!

[Good luck!]

System??? Get back here!

While the two Yue Qingyuans and Xu Qinglis conversed together to try to understand what had happened, the other peak lords had begun to mingle with each other, curious about their counterparts.

Shen Qingqiu tried to suppress his panic, sticking close to Shang Qinghua. His Yue Qingyuan occasionally flicked his softened gaze towards the alternate Shen Qingqiu, likely noticing that the other still acted as he used to before his qi deviation. In fact, several of the peak lords he had gotten to know over the years were sending some looks at the other Shen Qingqiu.

With the original goods right there, how long would it be before something exposed him as a fraud?? What if he was confronted about why he acted so differently?

[Host must avoid having his identity exposed. Being revealed as a transmigrator will result in Host being immediately sent back to his old body.]

Yeah, yeah, same shit as always!

Looking to his side, Shang Qinghua seemed to be experiencing the same threats, desperately looking away from the more dead-eyed Shang Qinghua across the room who, luckily, was barely paying him any attention.

Fuck, what do we do?

---

Shen Qingqiu continued to glare at the Other Shen Qingqiu in the room. The other Shen Qingqiu was so obviously a fraud, he could tell within minutes of being here. While his alternate seemed somewhat familiar, he didn't act like him at all, his mannerisms were all off, and despite the attempt at keeping a poker face, Shen Qingqiu could tell that he was nervous. Probably at being caught out.

His alternate self had likely been replaced with a bodysnatcher or some sort of spirt, if they truly were supposed to be the same person. Was everyone else stupid, or had they had their brains sucked out by a Heart Mouthed Lobster-Squid?

Or maybe they simply like the bodysnatcher better and didn't bother to investigate.

Shen Qingqiu's face became stormier, turning his glare to the Other Yue Qingyuan, wondering if he had felt happier once his precious Xiao-Jiu had vanished. The other Yue Qingyuan's face grew even more pathetic. Tch. Typical.

"That stupid System--" Shen Qingqiu nearly snapped his neck in looking at the bodysnatcher upon hearing his murmur. The fraud, upon noticing his sudden attention, clammed back up and looked away. But Shen Qingqiu knew what he heard.

Xi Tong.

He hadn't heard those words in years, not since--

He stepped forward, scanning the other once more. Upon a second, more thorough look, Shen Qingqiu realized that he grew more familiar. He wore his hair in the way that Shen Qingqiu wore it, but looser and less severe. His eyes were clearer and lighter, with hints of a smile, despite his nerves. He occasionally quickly glanced up and to his left, as if seeing something there, before bringing his attention back to the room at large.

No. It couldn't be. He was long dead, despite Shen Qingqiu's best efforts. Even if the fake had some similar things about him, that doesn't mean--

Shen Jiu had once had a brother, besides Qi-ge. Slightly smaller than him, despite the fact that Shen Jiu passed him along as much food as he could when on the streets. He smiled so much despite their circumstances, and was so kind despite Shen Jiu constantly telling him that he was making himself a target. But he looked so, so similar to Shen Jiu himself. They could have switched their clothes and looked exactly the same, if one didn't notice the difference in their demeanors.

His brother has also always been a little odd, talking to himself and arguing with an imaginary friend that only he could see named Xi Tong. One of the reasons that they survived as long as they did on the streets was due to the inexplicable knowledge that his brother seemed to have. Somehow, his brother knew about the various plants or small animals that they could hunt and sell for a pretty coin in the markets. Shen Jiu never asked, not looking a gift horse in the mouth.

But his brother was dead. He had died years ago, in the time during when they were in Qiu's manor. During a punishment for Shen Jiu's attempt to get them both to join Wu Yanzi; he had switched their clothes and taken Shen Jiu's place and died for it. That had been the final catalyst that made him set the manor ablaze and escape, mourning his brother's death as his fault for daring to be free. Cursing Qi-ge for not coming back for them.

Dazed and his vision dim, Shen Jiu took another step forward, and another. Hope, something he thought he had killed off long ago, slowly rose in his chest.

Had his brother survived in this world? Had he managed to escape alongside Shen Jiu? Or had Shen Jiu died in his place? Dimly, he can't help but think that the world would be far kinder if that were the case. If his brother had made it to Cang Qiong Mountain and became a peak lord all on his own and still managed to keep his smile. If he didn't have Shen Jiu dragging him down with him.

The other Shen Qingqiu, not having noticed his approach, laughed at something the other Shang Qinghua said ("Wonder if Shang Qinghua is a traitor here, too," Shen Jiu thought dimly). His laugh was the same. He rose his fan to hide his face, but Shen Jiu noticed how his nose crinkled, and his eyes nearly closed in delight, exactly like--

"A-Yuan?"

[velocityfss]

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With a user-friendly interface and seamless integration into your existing systems, it offers a comprehensive view of potential risks. Customizable thresholds and rules empower you to tailor detection to your specific needs. Stay one step ahead of fraudsters and protect your assets with our powerful fraud detection tool.

[treasure-mimic]

So, let me try and put everything together here, because I really do think it needs to be talked about.

Today, Unity announced that it intends to apply a fee to use its software. Then it got worse.

For those not in the know, Unity is the most popular free to use video game development tool, offering a basic version for individuals who want to learn how to create games or create independently alongside paid versions for corporations or people who want more features. It's decent enough at this job, has issues but for the price point I can't complain, and is the idea entry point into creating in this medium, it's a very important piece of software.

But speaking of tools, the CEO is a massive one. When he was the COO of EA, he advocated for using, what out and out sounds like emotional manipulation to coerce players into microtransactions.

"A consumer gets engaged in a property, they might spend 10, 20, 30, 50 hours on the game and then when they're deep into the game they're well invested in it. We're not gouging, but we're charging and at that point in time the commitment can be pretty high."

He also called game developers who don't discuss monetization early in the planning stages of development, quote, "fucking idiots".

So that sets the stage for what might be one of the most bald-faced greediest moves I've seen from a corporation in a minute. Most at least have the sense of self-preservation to hide it.

A few hours ago, Unity posted this announcement on the official blog.

Effective January 1, 2024, we will introduce a new Unity Runtime Fee that’s based on game installs. We will also add cloud-based asset storage, Unity DevOps tools, and AI at runtime at no extra cost to Unity subscription plans this November. We are introducing a Unity Runtime Fee that is based upon each time a qualifying game is downloaded by an end user. We chose this because each time a game is downloaded, the Unity Runtime is also installed. Also we believe that an initial install-based fee allows creators to keep the ongoing financial gains from player engagement, unlike a revenue share.

Now there are a few red flags to note in this pitch immediately.

Unity is planning on charging a fee on all games which use its engine.

This is a flat fee per number of installs.

They are using an always online runtime function to determine whether a game is downloaded.

There is just so many things wrong with this that it's hard to know where to start, not helped by this FAQ which doubled down on a lot of the major issues people had.

I guess let's start with what people noticed first. Because it's using a system baked into the software itself, Unity would not be differentiating between a "purchase" and a "download". If someone uninstalls and reinstalls a game, that's two downloads. If someone gets a new computer or a new console and downloads a game already purchased from their account, that's two download. If someone pirates the game, the studio will be asked to pay for that download.

Q: How are you going to collect installs? A: We leverage our own proprietary data model. We believe it gives an accurate determination of the number of times the runtime is distributed for a given project. Q: Is software made in unity going to be calling home to unity whenever it's ran, even for enterprice licenses? A: We use a composite model for counting runtime installs that collects data from numerous sources. The Unity Runtime Fee will use data in compliance with GDPR and CCPA. The data being requested is aggregated and is being used for billing purposes. Q: If a user reinstalls/redownloads a game / changes their hardware, will that count as multiple installs? A: Yes. The creator will need to pay for all future installs. The reason is that Unity doesn’t receive end-player information, just aggregate data. Q: What's going to stop us being charged for pirated copies of our games? A: We do already have fraud detection practices in our Ads technology which is solving a similar problem, so we will leverage that know-how as a starting point. We recognize that users will have concerns about this and we will make available a process for them to submit their concerns to our fraud compliance team.

This is potentially related to a new system that will require Unity Personal developers to go online at least once every three days.

Starting in November, Unity Personal users will get a new sign-in and online user experience. Users will need to be signed into the Hub with their Unity ID and connect to the internet to use Unity. If the internet connection is lost, users can continue using Unity for up to 3 days while offline. More details to come, when this change takes effect.

It's unclear whether this requirement will be attached to any and all Unity games, though it would explain how they're theoretically able to track "the number of installs", and why the methodology for tracking these installs is so shit, as we'll discuss later.

Unity claims that it will only leverage this fee to games which surpass a certain threshold of downloads and yearly revenue.

Only games that meet the following thresholds qualify for the Unity Runtime Fee: Unity Personal and Unity Plus: Those that have made $200,000 USD or more in the last 12 months AND have at least 200,000 lifetime game installs. Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise: Those that have made $1,000,000 USD or more in the last 12 months AND have at least 1,000,000 lifetime game installs.

They don't say how they're going to collect information on a game's revenue, likely this is just to say that they're only interested in squeezing larger products (games like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, Fate Grand Order, Among Us, and Fall Guys) and not every 2 dollar puzzle platformer that drops on Steam. But also, these larger products have the easiest time porting off of Unity and the most incentives to, meaning realistically those heaviest impacted are going to be the ones who just barely meet this threshold, most of them indie developers.

Aggro Crab Games, one of the first to properly break this story, points out that systems like the Xbox Game Pass, which is already pretty predatory towards smaller developers, will quickly inflate their "lifetime game installs" meaning even skimming the threshold of that 200k revenue, will be asked to pay a fee per install, not a percentage on said revenue.

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Hey Gamers!

Today, Unity (the engine we use to make our games) announced that they'll soon be taking a fee from developers for every copy of the game installed over a certain threshold - regardless of how that copy was obtained.

Guess who has a somewhat highly anticipated game coming to Xbox Game Pass in 2024? That's right, it's us and a lot of other developers.

That means Another Crab's Treasure will be free to install for the 25 million Game Pass subscribers. If a fraction of those users download our game, Unity could take a fee that puts an enormous dent in our income and threatens the sustainability of our business.

And that's before we even think about sales on other platforms, or pirated installs of our game, or even multiple installs by the same user!!!

This decision puts us and countless other studios in a position where we might not be able to justify using Unity for our future titles. If these changes aren't rolled back, we'll be heavily considering abandoning our wealth of Unity expertise we've accumulated over the years and starting from scratch in a new engine. Which is really something we'd rather not do.

On behalf of the dev community, we're calling on Unity to reverse the latest in a string of shortsighted decisions that seem to prioritize shareholders over their product's actual users.

I fucking hate it here.

-Aggro Crab - END DESCRIPTION]

That fee, by the way, is a flat fee. Not a percentage, not a royalty. This means that any games made in Unity expecting any kind of success are heavily incentivized to cost as much as possible.

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A table listing the various fees by number of Installs over the Install Threshold vs. version of Unity used, ranging from $0.01 to $0.20 per install. END DESCRIPTION]

Basic elementary school math tells us that if a game comes out for $1.99, they will be paying, at maximum, 10% of their revenue to Unity, whereas jacking the price up to $59.99 lowers that percentage to something closer to 0.3%. Obviously any company, especially any company in financial desperation, which a sudden anchor on all your revenue is going to create, is going to choose the latter.

Furthermore, and following the trend of "fuck anyone who doesn't ask for money", Unity helpfully defines what an install is on their main site.

While I'm looking at this page as it exists now, it currently says

The installation and initialization of a game or app on an end user’s device as well as distribution via streaming is considered an “install.” Games or apps with substantially similar content may be counted as one project, with installs then aggregated to calculate the Unity Runtime Fee.

However, I saw a screenshot saying something different, and utilizing the Wayback Machine we can see that this phrasing was changed at some point in the few hours since this announcement went up. Instead, it reads:

The installation and initialization of a game or app on an end user’s device as well as distribution via streaming or web browser is considered an “install.” Games or apps with substantially similar content may be counted as one project, with installs then aggregated to calculate the Unity Runtime Fee.

Screenshot for posterity:

That would mean web browser games made in Unity would count towards this install threshold. You could legitimately drive the count up simply by continuously refreshing the page. The FAQ, again, doubles down.

Q: Does this affect WebGL and streamed games? A: Games on all platforms are eligible for the fee but will only incur costs if both the install and revenue thresholds are crossed. Installs - which involves initialization of the runtime on a client device - are counted on all platforms the same way (WebGL and streaming included).

And, what I personally consider to be the most suspect claim in this entire debacle, they claim that "lifetime installs" includes installs prior to this change going into effect.

Will this fee apply to games using Unity Runtime that are already on the market on January 1, 2024? Yes, the fee applies to eligible games currently in market that continue to distribute the runtime. We look at a game's lifetime installs to determine eligibility for the runtime fee. Then we bill the runtime fee based on all new installs that occur after January 1, 2024.

Again, again, doubled down in the FAQ.

Q: Are these fees going to apply to games which have been out for years already? If you met the threshold 2 years ago, you'll start owing for any installs monthly from January, no? (in theory). It says they'll use previous installs to determine threshold eligibility & then you'll start owing them for the new ones. A: Yes, assuming the game is eligible and distributing the Unity Runtime then runtime fees will apply. We look at a game's lifetime installs to determine eligibility for the runtime fee. Then we bill the runtime fee based on all new installs that occur after January 1, 2024.

That would involve billing companies for using their software before telling them of the existence of a bill. Holding their actions to a contract that they performed before the contract existed!

Okay. I think that's everything. So far.

There is one thing that I want to mention before ending this post, unfortunately it's a little conspiratorial, but it's so hard to believe that anyone genuinely thought this was a good idea that it's stuck in my brain as a significant possibility.

A few days ago it was reported that Unity's CEO sold 2,000 shares of his own company.

On September 6, 2023, John Riccitiello, President and CEO of Unity Software Inc (NYSE:U), sold 2,000 shares of the company. This move is part of a larger trend for the insider, who over the past year has sold a total of 50,610 shares and purchased none.

I would not be surprised if this decision gets reversed tomorrow, that it was literally only made for the CEO to short his own goddamn company, because I would sooner believe that this whole thing is some idiotic attempt at committing fraud than a real monetization strategy, even knowing how unfathomably greedy these people can be.

So, with all that said, what do we do now?

Well, in all likelihood you won't need to do anything. As I said, some of the biggest names in the industry would be directly affected by this change, and you can bet your bottom dollar that they're not just going to take it lying down. After all, the only way to stop a greedy CEO is with a greedier CEO, right?

(I fucking hate it here.)

And that's not mentioning the indie devs who are already talking about abandoning the engine.

[Links display tweets from the lead developer of Among Us saying it'd be less costly to hire people to move the game off of Unity and Cult of the Lamb's official twitter saying the game won't be available after January 1st in response to the news.]

That being said, I'm still shaken by all this. The fact that Unity is openly willing to go back and punish its developers for ever having used the engine in the past makes me question my relationship to it.

The news has given rise to the visibility of free, open source alternative Godot, which, if you're interested, is likely a better option than Unity at this point. Mostly, though, I just hope we can get out of this whole, fucking, environment where creatives are treated as an endless mill of free profits that's going to be continuously ratcheted up and up to drive unsustainable infinite corporate growth that our entire economy is based on for some fuckin reason.

Anyways, that's that, I find having these big posts that break everything down to be helpful.

[sigmaleph]

your job is to catch frauds, but frauds universally pretend to be non-frauds, and non-frauds are much more common. so you look for various telltale details in every potential fraud, and every once in a while you put together some observations that made you suspicious, and you flag something as a fraud, and add it to your records.

at the end of the year, you want to check how good your system is, so you check, what percentage of the frauds did you catch? well, here you have your handy list of frauds you caught, so all you need is to divide it by the total number of frauds. you don't have that, the frauds aren't courteous enough to tell you how many of them there are, but you figure can make an estimate. you use your pre-existing list of detected frauds as a proxy for the total number of frauds, divide one by the other, and you get 100%! this is an approximation, of course, but how suggestive. your fraud-detection system is superb.

[cashezsvenningsenrkdjx]

A Little Intuition/Is Argentina's "Chainsaw Revolution" applicable to the United States? \Li Lingxiu

At a political rally held in the suburbs of Washington on Thursday, Argentine President Milley presented Musk, the leader of the Department of U.S. Government Efficiency (DOGE), with a "signature" chainsaw, symbolizing the inheritance of the "chainsaw revolution". But can the United States afford the economic price Argentina has paid for it?

Since the establishment of DOGE, several federal government departments have been purged. Musk and his leadership team first gained access to the Treasury Department's computer system, and then DOGE staff entered the International Development Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Ministry of Education and other departments to conduct investigations. At the aforementioned Conservative Political Action Conference, Musk also predicted that the Federal Reserve will be the next target.

The White House has provided a "buyout plan" to 2 million federal government employees, which will provide about 8 months of salary compensation to all employees who voluntarily resign. As of February 18, a total of about 20,000 federal employees (including probationary employees) have been laid off or forced to stop work and take leave.

Such a swift and vigorous layoff storm easily reminds people of the "chainsaw revolution" promoted by Mile in Argentina. As early as the last round of elections in the country, the image of Mile holding a chainsaw high has become a classic image of campaign propaganda. At the beginning of his term, he signed a presidential decree to reduce government departments from 18 to 9 and fired more than 30,000 government employees. The Argentine government also successfully cut public spending by 30% through measures such as cutting energy and transportation subsidies, achieving a fiscal surplus for the first time in 14 years.

But compared with the political environment of the two countries, there are actually great differences. The Argentine president has absolute power over the government's organizational structure and departmental settings, and the abolition of government departments belongs to the category of administrative affairs management and adjustment. But for the US president, if there is no clear authorization from Congress through relevant laws, government departments cannot be adjusted or abolished (except for agencies established by presidential decrees).

Expenditure reduction plan difficult to achieve

Musk's previous slogan was to cut federal spending by $1 trillion. But in the officially released White House documents, Trump did not propose KPIs in this regard. As of February 17, DOGE has saved an estimated $55 billion through contract and lease renegotiations, cancellation of grants, asset sales, layoffs, regulatory savings and fraud detection, completing only 4% of Musk's goal.

Data shows that the total expenditure of the US federal government in fiscal year 2024 is $6.8 trillion, and the largest sources come from three aspects: Social Security ($1.46 trillion), Medicare ($0.87 trillion), and Medicaid ($0.91 trillion), accounting for a total of 49%. However, cutting the above expenditures will shake the interests of voters, and Trump also made it clear during his campaign last year that he would not cut spending on these three projects. In this way, DOGE's spending reduction target seems to be a task that can never be completed.

More importantly, the cost of Argentina's "chainsaw revolution" is painful. In the first six months after Milley took office, the country's poverty rate jumped from about 40% to 53%. Although it fell back by the end of last year, the unemployment rate climbed from 12% in 2023 to 15%.

House prices in Washington, DC plummet

There are also some bad trends in the United States at the moment. Data shows that the number of initial unemployment claims in Washington, DC has risen significantly in the past two weeks. Real estate prices in the region have also begun to fall. The median price of a house in Washington, DC in January 2025 is $553,000, a sharp drop of 9.7% year-on-year.

Argentina is still the largest borrower from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with outstanding loans of $43.4 billion, accounting for nearly 30% of total credit, exceeding the total of all sub-Saharan African countries. (See accompanying picture)

If Musk insists on carrying out the "chainsaw revolution" to the end. Then, poverty will replace inflation and become the hottest topic in American society in the future.

[kabr0ztrousers]

For your everyday writing, could you write something with insectoid aliens?

Like, reader (masc preferably but I could go either way tbh) works on a human ship going planet to planet studying aliens, except they’re not a scientist, instead something like a janitor or tech fixer whose never really viewed as an “important member” of the ship.

But, they, unlike their fraud higher uppers, actually are unfearfully open to alien culture, and when the aliens see this, reader is basically “kidnapped” (not actually really kidnapped bc they probably let willingly but yk) and made into the hive king/queen

Kabr0z Writes episode 83: First Contact Protocol

Find the rest of the Kabr0z Writes anthology here!

CWs: group sex; kidnap-but-not-really; Oviposition; mpreg

A/N: I wound up doing a seni-hivemind thing here, though if you were hoping for a little more sexy personality sublimation that's coming later this week. That's not even a joke, it's on the forecast

######################################

The ship was on yellow alert, shields up and no unnecessary power draw. It's been there for a week, ever since you left the borders of Federated space. A slipspace contrail had been detected above a previously uncontacted world. Xenologists had been observing from high orbit in cloaked research platforms. The hivemind on the planet below have discovered FTL transit, which means one thing: diplomacy would have to begin.

Yours was the closest ship, the xenologists having left the system in a hurry once ships started reaching orbit equipped with suspected superluminal drives, scuttling their platforms into the host star. No cultural or technological pollution could be allowed to happen before the hive made those first faltering steps on their own.

The ship rattled as it dropped from slipspace. Long and thin, like a javelin. The vessel was designed to minimise cross section while passing through a shockwave of compressed space. Travel between stars now took days rather than centuries, at the cost of slipspace vessels being laid out in long corridors.

You'd been lucky enough to be selected for the away mission, along with a xenolinguist and a comms officer. Your job was to stand there holding a rifle and looking serious.

The species were insectile, long-bodied and angular. Twitching antennae swaying to an unheard movement. The aliens were writing, their species having long since abandoned verbal communication for a form of low-level telepathy. Individuals weren't very smart, but as soon as more than two or three came together in a room, they could outpace most humans. By the time twenty got together they formed a living computer. Each individual takes on a role as a single node in a vast networked mind.

The delegation was being walked through the hive, twisting passages filled with individuals, each swaying as they watched you pass. There must have been thousands, even tens of thousands of them, each networking with the others.

You weren't looking where you were going. One corridor led to another, then another, the insectile people parting for you as you strayed further from your group. You were being herded, though you didn't know it yet.

You stepped into a round, vaulted room. A larger insect reclined in the centre, on a bed of sorts. They pushed you towards it. Antenne settled on either side of your head. A voice echoed within your mind. Your voice.

"Apologies for deceiving you. I am the King of this hive. My time grows close, and I must have a successor."

A successor? Did he mean you?

"Yes. You. I have seen your mind, through my drones. You are unfulfilled amongst the stars, the whipping boy aboard ship, no home on your planet, you took to space to fill the void. Let us fill it for you.

He wasn't wrong. Four of the drones approached you: larger, winged, with reddish markings on alabaster white exoskeletons. Their touch was gentle, disrobing you from your dress uniform, stroking your skin, caressing your chest and back. One knelt in front of you, taking your cock in its hand, while another wrapped it's arms around you from behind.

You could feel something pressing against your ass, gently pushing into your hole as its fellow fondled you. You grew harder in its hand, grunting as it rubbed the shaft in one hand, massaging the head with the other. It was remarkably good at this, you suppose it must've got some technique from scanning your mind. Or maybe the immense processing power surrounding it let it find the most effective method. Either way, it was mere moments until you were struggling to stand, knees buckling as cum leaked out of you. The drones maneuvered you to the bed, leaning you against it. One sat below you, hands still working your cock, the other pushing against your rear, a third took a place in front of you.

An appendage extended from its crotch, pressing into your mouth. You opened up, allowing it to enter you as the one behind you pushed its way into your ass. You moaned around one cock as the other ground against your prostate, feeling the ridges of it tease you to another aching, leaking orgasm. The one underneath hummed delightedly as cum dripped down from you onto it. The drones fucked you harder, reaching their own release, buzzing and humming as they buried themselves into you.

The cum tasted like cranberries. Sweet, sharp, astringent, it flooded your mouth with pearls. They felt like the tapioca balls you'd had in milk tea once or twice, soft and pliant, bursting when you applied pressure with your tongue, but mostly sliding down your throat. The one in your ass released as well, dumping its load deep into you, grinding into your ass as the pearls filled you up. It stung a little, the eggs taking root in your guts.

Days passed, your belly swelled up. You could hear the hive around you, growing stronger as the old king grew weak. You weren't one of them, your mind was your own, but the harem of those special drones treated you as if you were. The next generation grew within you, one day soon you would push them out, a slew of larvae to renew the hive.

It's good being king

[myfriendpokey]

ANTHOLOGY OF THE KILLER - OUT NOW ON STEAM

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3212530/Anthology_Of_The_Killer/

It's true, the world's foremost attempted murder victim simulator is now out on Steam, for your convenience. Have a good time being chased around this Halloween season.

If you bought it on Itch you should be able to claim a key from your library there (if you don't see it you may have been flagged by itch's mysterious "fraud detection system" and may have to wait a few days).

If you've enjoyed the game (terrifying consumer toady voice) consider leaving a little user review on Steam, but either way, please have fun playing the videogames.

PEACE, Stephen